Container structures

ABSTRACT

A straw puncturable dispensing opening which includes a thin sheet of material which is sealed to the outside surface of a surmounting closure of a liquid container around the dispensing opening thereby making possible an easy visible inspection of the condition of the seal.

United States Patent Inventor Conrad O. Gardner 99 Woodhaven, Edmonds, Wash. 98020 Appl. No. 589,636

Filed Oct. 26, 1966.

Patented Aug. 3, 1971 CONTAINER STRUCTURES 2 Chins, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 229/7 5,

Int. Cl. 865d 5/70,

Field of Search 229]? S, 7, 17; 215/38, 42, l A; 222/83 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 857,767 6/ 1907 Stephens 206/D1G. 29 2,617,559 11/1952 Van der Spek 229]? X 2,750,095 6/1956 Alden 229/ 17 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,222,847 6/ 1960 France 229/7 652,302 4/1951 Great Britain..... 229/7 757,292 9/ 1956 Great Britain 229/7 Primary Examiner- Donald F. Norton ABSTRACT: A straw puncturable dispensing opening which includes a thin sheet of material which is sealed to the outside surface of a surmounting closure of a liquid container around the dispensing opening thereby making possible an easy visible inspection of the condition of the seal.

1 serting a straw in the opening whichgis primarily intended 'and J adapted for pouring. out the contents; The"arrangements"*in most present liquid containers of the quart'pintorhalf pint size for opening and pouring out'the contentsis eithera pull tab which has an attached portion whichis pulled'out'leaving' a. hole, or a surmounting closure on thecontainer-whichis of the"' gable top type and which houses a pouring lip which is un-"' folded out to pour out therliquid contentsrBoth of thesejog known arrangements necessitate a pulling and holding by'the fingers in the immediate vicinity of theopening to ready the container for pouring. Anymotionof fingers perhaps of soiled hands in the immediate vicinity of theopeningis undesirable from the sanitation aspect since -particles'therefrom maybe passed through .the opening and vtherelriy contaminate-1hriiquid contents of the containenFrom a sanitary viewpoint in e another. respect,the above-describedarrangementsleave a lot' to be desired when used with a straw;'since theopening'area'of the above openings for pouringtare much=largenthanthe-cross sectional area of a straw, so that after-these: containers are" opened, much space is left aroundthe-inserted straw-through which airborne contaminants'mayenter the container and liquid thereinsThe liquid containersof =the"'above'types*for*-' orange juice, milk, etcr'which arefound' in all cafeteria and? food stores which are used for individual consumptionare ar ranged for pouring out the liquids therefrom whereas when'it is a requirement'that these containersgen'erally of the "pint or half-pint size) have means-therein permittingpassage: of a straw thereinto for withdrawing the contents therefrom; a sim pier and cheaper arrangementof the container ispossible".

The object of this invention is toprovide outlet means foraliquid container which is'adapted especially foruse'by a'straw for the withdrawal of liquids therefrom.

A further object of this-inventiorr'isto providea liquid con tainer adapted for use with a straw which is especially s'anitary since-not requiring a substantial ar'nount'of fingering or han-- dling around the opening area through which the straw=is passed or permitting entry of airborne 'contaminantsafteh opening and insertion of the straw.r-

It is yet another object of this invention to provide means=in- It a container which permits fast entry "of a straw therein'forthe withdrawal of liquid therefrom.

It is also anotherobject of this invention to' provide a simple,

inexpensive and easyto use,'arrangement in a container for passage of a straw into the container..-

In accordance with a preferredembodiment of the invention a container for-liquids is surmounted by closuremeanswhich closure means-has an aperture therein; The apertureis covered by a thin sheet of plasticlike materialwhichfi's pierceable' by a. straw. The periphery- 0f .the' thin sheet of plasticlike material'is sealedto thet'outside or top of the' cl'o sure means taught and in liquidtightrelationi" Other objects, features, applications and? advantages-50f the present invention will becomemanifest" to those vcrsed' in thef art upon making reference to the'detaileddescriptionwhich followsand the accompanying sheetof drawings which show differentembodiments of the presenuinventio'n. 1

in the drawings:

FIG. .1 is'a view in perspective of'an embodiment'of the-in vention in a containerof the gable top closuretype; I

FIG. 2is a view-in perspective:of a-furtherembodimentof the invention in a boxlike type containerofi the type" havin'g'a'=. top panelaffixed thereto. 7

1 16. 3 is a view inperspective of yet another embodiment of the-inventionina container having a removable top'cover as closure means therefor.

Referring to FIG! there'is shown a dispensing container'l sm-mounted hy'a sealed closure housing a pouring lipl' This type of containers of paperboard has 'an ovferall 'surfacef'of the thermoplastic materiaL-This type of container having a 'gable top'closure is openedby lifting out th'e corner folds7 at the end ofth'e 'containe'rhaving'the'arrow' and the pouring'lip is unfolded and forced out'whe'n it is desired to pour out'the contents of the container-1 intoa glass or other receptacle. In 'ac-" corda'nce -withthis'ernbodimentof the invention, a roof panel 2 has an apert'ure -4 which-is a circular'holepunched therethrough; 'Thisapert'ui'e' 4 is made slightly larger in diam'e-' t'er tha'n the'diameter 'of the straw which is to be passed therethrouglt' forwithdrawal of theliq uid contents of the con tainerfMostpaper strawsand'plas'ti'c stra'wsin common use at the presenttime have a diameter of slightly less than 0.25

inches; so-that the aperture 4 should be'enough'l'arger to permit the'straw when "passed throughto completely 'clear the hole and can be'large enough-to permit the straw-to be wiggled aroun'cl'the bottom'o'f the'c'ontainer to withdraw all of the contents.'-Theaperture 4 should be located approximately in the :center-of the front orrearroof 'pa'nelZ so as not to interfere with the folded in side i'oof' panels'2'3 which extend in under the roof panelszas far as shown 'by thehidden lines 3. Across and coverin'gthe-hole 4 is a pieceofpla'sticlike material 5 whoseperiphei'y 'r'nustexterid far enough beyond theaperture *4 to allowthefedges fi of 'ihis"covering"5' to be sealed'to the roof panel2' around the aperture 4 securely sothat wheria straw'is'. pushedperpendicularly against the 'coveringfi above: the hole, the 3 covering 5 will" rupture thereby permitting "the strawto pass'throughthe aperture'4 andint'o the container" 1 's o thatthe liquidcontentsthereof maybe withdra wn through" the-straw: The 'aperture fis'about 0.25- inch fo a straw of eg:

0.2 3 inc liir'i diameter and 'a' circular 'piec'e of clear transparent plasticlike material such fHaridFYl/rap (made by the Dow Chemical'Company of Midland,Mich.)havinga'thickness of somewhat less than OZOOl'inch and having a diameter of 0.75

inch is centeredonthe circular ape'rturej4 and sealed down under its edg'esor perimeter 6 I by "Elriie'rs Glue-all" (not shown in' the drawing since it d'rys clear) which is'a registered trademark-fora glue-"like substancemanufactured by Borden Company, New York; With'this structural arrangement, it was thatftheypermit'easyrupture o'r piercingthroughby a straw. The above""arrangement-worked satisfactorily when paper straws were usedi however' of course'if plastic straws are-used" there is lesschanceof bending or otherwise destroying the straw during'th'e punctureand'ihsertion process. 0f course'if it were desir'ed to usea'thickeror stronger'covering' materialtto' prev'erit-accidentali rupture duet'o a pressure-inside other tlian atmospheric pressuremspeciauydesigned straw with a sharp edge or'of stronger material"(such'as' gl'ass)" would have to' be usedi' Other'adhesi'vematerial 'c'ouldflalso of course-be used, the one-discussed be'ing given'onl'y'b'y wayof eiramplel If a' 'nont'ransp'arent' r'naterial' is used"'for"c'ove'r 5 then a circle' should iie printedori the2coverabov'e' the 'a p'erti'r'r'e so' as to pro vide-a 'guide for'pushing'the straw through the aperturefii contents within the container. When it has been decided as to what kind of straw is going to be used then the diameter of the aperture 4 is made larger than the diameter of the aperture to provide clearance for passing the straw through the aperture 4. A piece of material for a cover 5 is then selected which can be pierced readily by the straw without breaking or damaging the particular type of straw selected. An adhesive is selected which will attach and seal the cover 5 to the container wall 2.

Referring to FIG, 2 there is shown a boxlike container 16 having a flat top panel 17 and having no opening for removing liquid from the container 16 other than the simple aperture 18 with covering 19 which is pierced with a straw for the withdrawal of the liquid contents. The cover 19 is arranged over the aperture in the same manner as cover 5 was arranged over aperture 4 as was explained above in connection with the description of FIG. 1. Where straws are to be used exclusively with, for example, half-pint size or pint size containers containing a beverage such as milk or orange juice but-not soda or a beverage required to be kept under pressure, then a simple, inexpensive, paperboard type boxlike arrangement such as shown in H6. 2 may be used which has the cover 19 and aperture 18 therein through which a straw is pushed to withdraw the liquid contents thereof.' The narrow aperture 18 which'is only slightly larger than the straw passed therethrough does not permit the contents to come in contact with the outside air which might otherwise carry and pass contaminants to the liquid contents in the container.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a milkshake container having a removable plastic cover 13. An aperture 14 and cover is arranged in a similar manner as the aperture 4 and cover 5 of the container 1 already discussed in connection with H6. 1. The aperture 14 may be larger than the aperture 4 since for milkshakes a larger straw is used and such straw will of course have to pass through the aperture 14.

Extra covers 5', l9, 15' with adhesive backing may be provided for temporarily rescaling the containers described if 'pierceable by a straw, the periphery of said thin sheet of material extending beyond the periphery of said aperture and being sealed to the outside surface of said closure means, and including a further sheet of material for resealing said container after piercingof said thin sheet of material, said further sheet of material having an adhesive backing thereon, said further sheet of material also pierceable by a straw. 1

2. A tubular container for liquids which is surmounted by closure means, said closure means having an aperture therein, said aperture being covered by a thin sheet of material 'pierceable by a straw, the periphery'of said thin sheet of material extending beyond the periphery of said aperture and being sealed to theoutside surface of said closure means, and wherein said aperture is slightly larger in cross section than said straw which is used to pierce said thin sheet of material,

said thin sheet of material being sealed to the outside surface of said closure means in liquidtight relation and so that said thin sheet of material is maintained taught across said aperture, said tubular container being rectangular in cross section and having four sidewall panels, said closure means being. a gable top closure housing a pouring lip including front and rear roof closure panels extending upwardly towards each' other from opposite, sidewall panels of said tubular container,

said aperture being located approximately in the center of one of said roof closure panels. 

1. A tubular container for liquids which is surmounted by closure means, said closure means having an aperture therein, said aperture being covered by a thin sheet of material pierceable by a straw, the periphery of said thin sheet of material extending beyond the periphery of said aperture and being sealed to the outside surface of said closure means, and including a further sheet of material for resealing said container after piercing of said thin sheet of material, said further sheet of material having an adhesive backing thereon, said further sheet of material also pierceable by a straw.
 2. A tubular container for liquids which is surmounted by closure means, said closure means having an aperture therein, said aperture being covered by a thin sheet of material pierceable by a straw, the periphery of said thin sheet of material extending beyond the periphery of said aperture and being sealed to the outside surface of said closure means, and wherein said aperture is slightly larger in cross section than said straw which is used to pierce said thin sheet of material, said thin sheet of material being sealed to the outside surface of said closure means in liquidtight relation and so that said thin sheet of material is maintained taught across said aperture, said tubular container being rectangular in cross section and having four sidewall panels, said closure means being a gable top closure housing a pouring lip including front and rear roof closure panels extending upwardly towards each other from opposite sidewall panels of said tubular container, said aperture being located approximately in the center of one of said roof closure panels. 